Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress her Department has made in identifying ash trees with resistance to ash dieback disease; and if she will make a statement.

Rory Stewart, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Environment and Rural Affairs: Investing in research is one of our key commitments in response to ash dieback. We have invested over £21 million into tree health research and the UK is leading the way on the work to identify resistant strains. Defra funded research has already identified three genetic markers for tolerance. This is a significant first step in developing trees with tolerance to the disease and testament to the innovation and dedication of our world leading scientists.

The Government-funded screening trial of 155,000 ash saplings is also unprecedented in its scope.

Collectively, our research is investigating the genetic basis for natural tolerance and screening our native ash trees for genetic markers; work is also underway to further our understanding of the pathogen, how it spreads and local management approaches to protect individual, high value trees.

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